I recently attended Espresso Fundamentals at Counter Culture's new Bay Area (Emeryville) training facility.

It is mainly targeted at working baristas (or aspiring baristas), but open to all. There are three basic sections: (1) (light) introduction to espresso theory, machines, recipes, etc., (2) hand-on espresso preparation and (3) hands-on milk steaming and pouring. Overall, it is a crash course in espresso.

While I've been happily making espresso at home, it was very valuable to get the immediate feedback from an experienced pro barista on my technique and be exposed to different work styles. For example, I normally single dose, weigh in/out and use a bottomless portafilter. At home, this is easy as I have the time and I enjoy the ritual. In the class, we dosed by volume (fill basket), distributed via NSEW swipes and were brewing by time/volume and used spouted portafilters. Ignoring any individual opinion or preference about the techniques being taught, it was valuable to have the alternate experience and still make really good espresso.

For me, the best part was tuning by taste with a pro. Since we were splitting the extractions into shot glasses, the instructor and I could taste the shot and discuss its taste and what to tweak. This has been a challenging area for me (particularly as I am tolerant of very sour and very bitter flavors) and I learned a lot in a short time frame.

I pulled more shots in a few hours that I normally would in a week or two.

Similarly, in the milk section, while you can read lots of online information and see videos about the right texture, sheen and feel of properly steamed milk, nothing beats in-person guidance and correction. I've always (unknowingly) steamed my milk a bit thin, not too much, but it caused problems in the pour. A few tweaks and pouring became so much easier. There are also small movement errors in my pouring that the instructor immediately noticed but to which I was oblivious.

Anyway, considering how much I spend on this "hobby" (i.e. obsession), the $250 class was well worth it. And getting to spend the day with a brand new Strada and Mythos grinder was a nice bonus.

Thanks for posting this. Very valuable for those of us in the Bay Area.

Counter culture really has an awesome program, very clean cut and nice training centers. The gear and coffee ain't too bad either

This sounds really interesting. The $250 is kind of steep, but I suppose it's definitely worth it to learn from the pros and get to use a real commercial espresso machine.

Definitely on my to-do list.

I attended yesterday's espresso fundamentals lab, and my experience echoed that of Chris. The opportunity to taste _a lot_ of good and bad shots was invaluable (though I got jittery -- didn't spit out as much as I should have). It was also great to use top quality equipment and to get feedback on technique and tasting experiences. The Mythos was really impressive; the Robur reminded me how little I miss the Mazzer collar; and the Linea and Strada stoked the cool embers of GS3/Linea Mini upgradeitis.

But mostly, I came home thinking about technique.

For some time, my home routine has been to weigh coffee doses in a bottomless portafilter and use volumetric dosing to shoot for a 50% brew ratio. Not so much attention to blonding and shot time. The folks at the training were kind enough to send me home with about 8 ounces of the SO Kenya we pulled on the Mythos/Strada. So, I came home from the lab and started doing volumetric grind dosing into a spouted portafilter and stopping the shot based on blonding and time. Using this approach I was able to replicate the shot I had at Counter Culture. Weighing a basket showed it was a few grams heavier than what I'd typically be dosing. Didn't weigh the 'spro but I suspect the brew ratio was higher than 50%.

I didn't find the milk parts of the class very engaging, and the next course (today; I didn't attend) is a full-on assault on milk. I am thinking that at some point I might go to the advanced espresso course. Apparently the scales come out in that one.

Expensive? Maybe. But not compared to how much I've invested in equipment over the years -- an imbalance Marshall (and I'm sure others) have noted in the past.